Tapestry: Touching Hearts and Minds

A recent issue of Tapestry.

CANADA -Earlier this year, Tapestry, the magazine for women of Lutheran Church–Canada published by Lutheran Women’s Missionary League–Canada received another award from the Canadian Church Press (CCP). Judy Grande’s article in the spring 2014 issue entitled, “Just a small thing… but it made all the difference” won third place in the Personal Experience/First Person Account category for publications with a circulation under 10,000.

Kathy Birkett, Tapestry‘s assistant editor, often attends Canadian Church Press conventions on behalf of the magazine. She shares her thoughts about how Tapestry measures up against publications from a variety of denominations.

In 2012, she was elected to the CCP’s executive committee as a member-at-large. She met many people from other church publications and, during coffee breaks, got chatting with many of them. Kathy was often asked how many people Tapestry has “on staff,” to which the answer is none. She told them it is done completely by volunteers. Shocked, they consistently asked, “How does that even work?”

Kathy says, “I finally understood how other publications function. Paid staff. People with journalism degrees. Editors who assign stories to their writers. An art department that does the layout, and many also have on-staff artists to produce unique artwork for their publication. Tapestry relies on what people decide they’re going to send us, most of whom are amateur writers, and often stock photography. Sometimes our editor-in-chief will ask someone to write something specific, but most times, it’s what is sent in.”

Tapestry submits only a few entries for award consideration each year because of the expense—it’s not a huge amount, as the magazine carefully considers how to be good stewards of its limited funds. But Tapestry wins! Since 1999, when Tapestry first entered submissions to the CCP Awards, the magazine has won nine awards: three honourable mentions, three third places, two second places, and one first place.

Kathy’s answer to the person who asks “How does that even work?”: “It is God’s work among our members, and He guides and directs as He wills. An issue often comes together differently than we had foreseen, but so perfectly we can easily see God’s hand and give Him praise. When I tell people at the CCP conventions about this, it gives them pause for thought. I think some have forgotten that their publications are there by the grace of God and according to His will. So, our magazine is small and humble, but we have been an example to others in the Canadian Church Press by how we operate, and that we still win awards. Praise and glory to God for what He accomplishes through LWMLC, and Tapestry.”

Tapestry is produced in regular print, large print, audio and electronic versions. To subscribe, talk to your congregation’s LWMLC society, visit the LWMLC website here, or e-mail tapestry@lutheranwomen.ca for a subscription form.

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